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I’ve been going to New York Comic Con (NYCC) for a couple of years now and I’ve discovered some tips that’ll help you make the most of your wonderfully geeky weekend. If you’re going to NYCC and wanna say hi IRL, hit me up on Twitter or email me at jamila[at]girlgonegeekblog.com!

The NYCC App has everything you need to know about the con including panels, guests, rules, exhibitors, map and a bunch more. My favorite feature is that you can add panels to your schedule and they’ll remind you when it’s coming up.

2. Comphy Shoes & Clothes (Cosplay Willing)

If you plan to be there all 3 or 4 days you will be exhausted. The convention space is huge and you’ll be on your feet for a good portion of that time. Do your feet a favor and wear comfortable shoes. Of course, if your cosplay requires heels pack some emergency flats!

3. Nomz

If you’re like me, you plan to go to as many panels as time and space permit. Which means you’ll be waiting in line and camping out in rooms for hours. Don’t lose your spot in line, or that front row seat to a panel because you were hungry or thirsty. Pack some food and drinks! Drink extra OJ and take your vitamins that weekend, you don’t want to suffer from con-flu on Monday!

4. Chargers

Even if you have great battery life, bring your charger. You’ll be taking more photos and on your social media pages much more because it’s NYCC. There are some charging stations and random sockets around the convention center. If you have a portable charger bring that fo sho!

5. Camera(s)

As I mentioned above, the chances of your phone dying are higher than you seeing a Homestuck cosplayer. I know real cameras are becoming pretty rare, but if you have one bring it! The quality of your photos will be better and it’ll still be around when your phone isn’t. Worst case scenario is using your iPad. I know it’s pretty embarrassing and you look like a tourist, but I’m sure you can suffer 5 seconds of side eyes if it means taking a picture of an amazing cosplayer.

6. Sharpie

Yup, that’s it. A sharpie. Don’t be the one who runs into Stan Lee at the con with no Sharpie at hand for an autograph.

7. BYOC

Bring your own comics. This goes hand-in-hand with the sharpie tip. Go through the list of guests and artists that will be at NYCC and bring some of their comics with you. I’ve been lucky enough to have Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, Brian K. Vaughan, Sean Murphy, Greg Capullo, Robert Kirkman (to name a few) sign my comics!

Pro tip: At the end of the panels, rush (in an orderly fashion) to the front of the stage. Most panelist stay and sign stuff and take pictures before they leave. No pushing!

8. Read/Watch/Play

If you plan to go to panels, you’ll be in a line. A lot. And you’ll be camping out in rooms (IGN theater, I’m looking at you kid). Although the con is my favorite place to people watch and make new friends, I suggesting bringing a book, comic, 3DS, PSP and/or an iPad to entertain you while you wait to be entertained some more. Plus, think of all the Street Passes you’ll get on your 3DS!

9. Buy (Almost) Everything Sunday

If you’ll be there for the whole weekend, wait until Sunday to buy most of your goodies. By then, you would have gotten to see the whole floor multiple times and compare prices on all the swag you want. Also, Sunday is shorter so you won’t have to carry your loot for that long. There are less attendees as well so you’ll have the space to get a good look at everything and shift through comics without bumping into a fellow con-goer or getting accidentally hit in the face by their cosplay. Doh!

10. Don’t Be a Jerk

Seriously, dude. Don’t be a jerk. Don’t cut in line. Be respectful of cosplayers. Revealing cosplay isn’t an invitation to be a creeper. No one likes a creeper. Help make NYCC a happy place.

The highlight of NYCC, for me, was The Walking DeadPanel by far. Besides having a soft spot for all things undead, everything I saw and read about The Walking Dead tells me it will be another great television series. I recently started reading The Walking Dead Compendium One, by Robert Kirkman and I am officially obsessed. I read it for hours and couldn’t put it down, good thing I have a lot of The Walking Dead material to read since it’s been out since 2003.

The ING Theater was filled to capacity, if I hadn’t went in during the previous panel (which was M. Night Shaylaman) I wouldn’t have gotten in. The line was ridiculous and I heard people who couldn’t get in showed just how upset they were. At the panel is the comic book creator Robert Kirkman, producer Gale Anne Hurd (Aliens, The Terminator) and director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile). The main cast also showed up, but my battery died, typical. At the panel we saw an “exclusive clip” from about 6 minutes of when Rick first meets Glenn. Since mostly everything at NYCC I had seen on TV or online before from a previous con I was excited for something new.

One of my favorite moments at the panel was when the actor who plays Shane came out and the crowd booed him. He said how happy he was to hear that because at the previous cons they cheered for him and let’s just say the crowd was Team Rick Grimes, as they should be.

I was able to get three of the main cast, Kirkman, Hurd and Darbont to sign my comic of The Walking Dead!!! :) They were really nice about taking the time to sign comics and take pictures with the fan before they were rushed off to an interview.

Season 1 will have 6 episodes, the pilot will be 90 minutes long and the rest will be an hour. Hurd made it very clear that the only way season 2 will happen is how well season 1 is received. So if you are a fan of The Walking Dead series or just really excited for a new great show, watch it and watch it live (as best you can).

You can read more about the show in one of my previous post here and the amazing Zombie Week here.

The Walking Dead airs on October 31st on AMC at 10pm. It will also air in 120 countries the same week it airs in the US!

This past weekend was New York Comic Con and Anime Fest and it was every otaku and fanboy/fangirls dress up dream! Instead of the usual Tattoo Tuesday I’m going to feature some of the many cosplay and costumes I saw at NYCC and NYAF. A few pictures are from Dorkly and two are from Tall Tale Features.

I sat in on the FUNimation Panel on Friday Oct. 8th which was pretty much just a bunch of clips and trailers for shows that have already aired but are coming to DVD soon. So yeah… it wasn’t that big of a deal. When it comes to anime I am extremely picky so it’s hard for me to see an anime I really like and keep up with it, but I do want to check out Eden of the East and Corpse Bride. Below are some of the shows they discussed and their DVD release dates.

DVD Season 2- 10/12/10- “Hetalia a webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by Hidekaz Himaruya. The series presents an allegorical interpretation of political and historic events, particularly of the World War II era, in which the various countries are represented by anthropomorphic characters (wiki).”

I also hear some people say it is racists. I haven’t watched it yet but I hear it’s a matter of opinion. I haven’t watched this show but I did get the voice actors to sign some Hetalia stuff and I was wearing my TARDIS shirt that day and me and one of the voice actors started gushing about David Tennant and he said he might have to opportunity to work with him and I told him to give David a kiss for me when he sees him! :)

This past weekend, from October 8-10, was New York Comic Con and Anime Festival. I attended the entire weekend and had a blast. There was tons cosplay, costumes, great panels, long lines and of course bad smells. This week I’ll be giving you my recap on the good, bad and the geeky… oh wait that was the entire weekend!

I had a press pass which allowed me in a few hours before everyone else on Friday to check out the con and get some gameplay in before the crowd was let loose which was pretty cool. The highlight for me was The Walking Dead Panel, this isn’t just because I love zombies, but a majority (if not all) of NYCC seemed to be left overs from San Diego Comic Con and E3. Basically, most of what was there wasn’t new and exclusive but The Walking Dead creators and cast showed us “exclusive” clips and the panel was great. I also got the comic signed by a few of them! Oh and also I saw Stan Effing Lee three times and just about exploded into a million pieces!

This upcoming weeks blogs on NYCC & NYAF 2010:

Cosplay and Costumes

Panels:

Shinigami and Death in Japanese Culture

FUNimation

Grant Morrison Documentary Panel

Hayao Miyazaki Themes and Motifs Panel

The Walking Dead

R&B Singer Ne-Yo’s Comic

M. Night Shyamalan Panel

Games/Game play:

Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Donkey Kong Country Returns

Kinect

Michael Jackson The Experience Wii

Kidz Bop- Wii

If you are wondering how I plan on blogging about all of this while working and going to Grad School, well I’m wondering the same damn thing!

Check out some pics from this weekend, and a few from Big Apple Comic Con last weekend. (The awesome cosplay/costume pictures and other pics and video from the panels will in their respective posts throughout the week.)

NYC’s biggest book festival is back with a bang! This weekend (Sept 10-12) is the Brooklyn Book Festival at Borough Hall and Plaza. There will be over 200 authors there for book signings as well as book sellers, panel discussions, performances, workshops and more! There will be 170 vendors at the book fest whispering sweet nothings into my ear (and wallet). Good thing I just got paid!